Imaginary worlds pervade forager oral tradition

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Anthropology
• Evolutionary Psychology

Background:

• Hunter-gatherer societies frequently feature imaginary worlds in their narratives.
• The prevalence of these fictional realms suggests deep evolutionary roots in human cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the origins and adaptive functions of imaginary worlds in human evolution.
• To understand why fictional narratives are so popular across cultures.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of hunter-gatherer narrative structures.
• Examination of cognitive mechanisms underlying pretense and imagination.
• Theoretical modeling of information transfer in fictional contexts.

Main Results:

• Fictional narratives employ diverse strategies to encode factual information.
• Participation in imaginary worlds leverages evolved capacities for pretense.
• These invented worlds can provide crucial informational inputs for developmental processes.

Conclusions:

• Imaginary worlds are an ancient aspect of human experience, integral to our cognitive evolution.
• Engaging with fiction serves an adaptive function by scaffolding cognitive development.
• Understanding the origins of pretense is key to understanding the popularity of fictional narratives.